2009 ePortfolios Showcase

VET E-portfolios Showcase presentations available

E-portfolios are becoming increasingly popular around the world as a tool to enhance learning and assist with personal career development.

More than 140 teachers, trainers, managers and ICT professionals attended the inaugural VET E-portfolios Showcase 09 (VES09) in Melbourne on Friday 16 October, either at the actual event or by participating in free online sessions, to learn from some of the most highly regarded e-portfolio researchers and leaders.

Several presentations were streamed live from VES09 and the recordings are now available. To access these recorded presentations copy the complete link below into your web browser.

E-portfolios supporting learner identity and re-engagement

Keynote speaker, Ruth Wallace (Charles Darwin University) presents her research into the use of e-portfolios to support learner identity and re-engagement. Ruth discusses the implications of e-portfolios for educational delivery in regional Australia, using her specialist knowledge in the flexible and innovative delivery of VET programs in remote areas.

E-portfolios and web 2.0

Hazel Owen (Unitec, NZ) looks at the key strategies and recommendations for the effective implementation of web 2.0 e-portfolio initiatives including targeted professional development for teachers and trainers, and guidance to assist learners with self-reflection, collection and selection of evidence, while also fostering their personalised and creative lifelong learning journeys.

Regional e-portfolios

Richard Wyles (Flexible Learning Network Ltd, NZ) provides valuable insights into New Zealand’s national e-portfolio initiatives including MyPortfolio – a free, nationwide e-portfolio service using open source software to assist learners, teachers and trainers to record and showcase evidence of achievement, manage development plans, set goals, and create online learning communities.

E-portfolios communities of practice: Local, national, global

Gillian Hallam (Queensland University of Technology) looks at what’s needed to instigate, support and sustain communities of practice (CoPs), which are established to assist the embedding of e-portfolios in education. She outlines the key features of e-portfolio CoPs, including the contexts in which they have been developed, the objectives of the diverse collaborative activities, and the associated critical success factors and challenges faced.

Innovation to support lifelong learning: The benefits for Australia

Jerry Leeson (Education.au) looks at the case for lifelong e-portfolios, with a particular focus on regional e-portfolios. Jerry explores the benefits and challenges of using e-portfolios to support lifelong learning and the ways in which they can be applied, both in today’s economic environment and moving into the future.

E-portfolios to support lifelong learning

Kirstie Coolin and Stuart Wood (Centre for International ePortfolio Development, UK) demonstrate e-portfolio tools and explore how the associated processes form a part of the learner landscape without necessarily embracing an e-portfolio system in its entirety.

The VET E-portfolios Showcase 09 was hosted by the national training system’s e-learning strategy, the Australian Flexible Learning Framework.

To listen to the presentations:

You must have access to headphones and have installed and configured the web conferencing software. To download Elluminate and to configure your computer click here and follow the instructions.

More information – ePortfolios Australia

For more information about past conferences, the current conference or ePortfolios Australia, contact Allison Miller by email: eportfoliosaustralia [at] gmail.com (Please replace [at] with @ to use this email address above) or phone: 0400 732 270.